Creamy Crispy Cannoli are a dessert worth the effort. The sweet creamy cheese filling inside the fresh crunchy shell makes a luscious and decadent dessert.
Deep fried pastry with a creamy, flavorful filling. Yes, please! Let's have THAT for dessert!
But what is it exactly? It is Cannoli, and Cannoli is the plural of the word Cannolo. So, if you are only eating one, you are enjoying a Cannolo (even though no one says it that way).
So, let's not mess up the name, and let's be sure to eat more than one Cannoli!
How to Make Cannoli
The filling for this dessert is über simple to make...it's the pastry that is a little labor intensive.
There is special equipment involved, cannoli tubes. These are stainless steel tubes that you wrap the dough around before deep frying. They can be purchased at kitchen stores or from Amazon.com.
(Psssttt!!! Over here!!! You can also purchase the cannoli shells already made if you don't want to mess around with deep frying them. The filling is a cinch to make!)
But, if you are like me and want to DIY the whole thing, then here is the how-to.
The Dough
Use your food processor to make the dough. This bring it together with little effort. Basically, pulse the dry ingredients then add the liquids and pulse until the dough is formed.
After removing the mixture from the food processor, wrap in plastic wrap or set a bowl over the dough and let rest for 30 to 60 minutes. This allows the gluten to absorb the liquid and makes the dough easier to work with.
Roll and Cut the Dough
This is where your pasta machine will come in handy. You can also use a regular rolling pin.
Break off about one-eighth of the dough, sprinkle with a bit of flour and put through the pasta rollers on the largest setting. Continue putting the dough through the machine, adding flour as necessary until you get to about 6 on the dial.
Then lay your dough flat on a lightly floured surface and cut out as many 3-½" circles as possible. These will eventually be ovals, so if you're cutting freehand, go ahead and make ovals now.
Keep the circles covered with plastic until are all cut and you move on to the frying.
Fry the Cannoli Shells
Pour 2" to 3" inches of vegetable oil into a medium saucepan and heat to 350ºF. While the oil is heating, rub the cannoli tubes lightly with oil. Take one round of dough and use your hand or a rolling pin to make it an oval.
Place the metal tube on the dough and wrap the dough around, sealing the edge with a bit of egg wash. Make sure you have a good seal.
Prepare 3 or 4 tubes in this manner. Then gently lower 2 of the prepared tubes into the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute until golden brown. They brown fast, so don't leave the oil.
At this point I use a two pronged meat fork to lift the tubes out of the oil and set them on paper towels.
Then, while still hot, I use paper towels to protect my hands as I gently slide the metal tube away from the pastry.
Repeat these steps until all the cannoli shells are fried.
The Filling
The filling is super easy. While you're making the shells, have the ricotta cheese draining in a cheesecloth lined sieve for at least an hour. This will remove a lot of the moisture so once filled the pastry will stay crisp a while longer.
Once drained, mix the cheese with powdered sugar then divide it into 3 small bowls. Now is the time to add you flavors.
You can really use any flavors that you love. For this recipe I used, orange, vanilla-chocolate, and pistachio. Yum!
How to Fill the Cannoli Shells
You can use piping bags or regular plastic bags for the filling. Put each flavor into its own bag.
If using plastic bags, make sure the filling is in one corner of the bag, twist the bag above the filling, then cut about ½" off one corner.
If using piping bags, just fill with the cheese mixture and cut off about ½" of the tip.
Place the tip of the bag into one of the shells and squeeze to express the cheese into the pastry. Pulling the bag out as you go. Finish by turning the shell around to fill up the other side.
Once the filling is in, dip the ends in the topping of choice.
And there you have it, freshly made cannoli!
Creamy Crispy Cannoli
Special Equipment
- Stainless steel cannoli tubes
- 3 ½" round cutting tool, I used a mug and cut around it with a knife.
Ingredients
CANNOLI SHELLS
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon instant coffee granules
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup Marsala wine
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 egg white and 1 teaspoon water, beaten and set aside
- Vegetable oil, for frying
CANNOLI FILLING
- 2 pounds whole milk ricotta cheese, drained, see note*
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons candied orange peels, in small dice
- 2 teaspoons Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
- ⅓ cup + 2 Tablespoons roasted, salted pistachios, shelled and ground-up
- ⅓ cup + 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
- Orange zest
Instructions
TO MAKE THE SHELLS:
- Put the flour, sugar, salt, and instant coffee into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse a few times until well combined.
- Add the melted butter, Marsala wine, and the lightly beaten egg; pulse until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
- Remove dough from the food processor, wrap loosely in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes to one hour.
TO ROLL THE DOUGH USING A PASTA MACHINE:
- Break off about ⅛th of the dough, sprinkle with flour and put through the pasta roller set on the widest setting, "1."
- Put the dough through using the "1" setting 2 more times.
- Then continue flattening and thinning the dough by tightening up the pasta rollers. It should be thin enough on "6." Sprinkle with additional flour as needed.
- Lay the long, flat piece of dough on a lightly floured surface. And cut as many 3 ½" circles as possible. Then proceed with the frying steps below.
TO ROLL THE DOUGH BY HAND:
- Lightly flour your cutting board or smooth counter-top and your rolling pin.
- Break off about ⅛th of the dough and roll it out until it is very thin, about 1/16".
- Lay the long, flat piece of dough on a lightly floured surface. And cut as many 3 ½" circles as possible. Then proceed with the frying steps below.
TO FRY THE CANNOLI SHELLS:
- Heat about 2" to 3" of oil in a medium saucepan to 350ºF. Or use your deep fryer if you have one.
- Cover the cannoli tubes with oil.
- With your rolling pin, roll each circle to elongate it, so you have an oval.
- Hold the oval of dough in your palm, lay the oiled tube on top. Wrap the dough around the tube using a dab of the egg white to seal the dough. Make sure it is sealed well.
- Prepare 3 to 4 tubes.
- Gently lower 2 of the tubes into the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute, until golden brown.
- Remove from the oil. I used a long two-pronged meat fork to lift the tubes out of the oil.
- Then CAREFULLY, using paper towels to protect your hands, slide the cannoli shell off the tube. Set the cooked shells onto paper towels to drain and cool.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
FILLING THE CANNOLI SHELLS:
- Mix the ricotta cheese with the powdered sugar.
- Divide the cheese mixture between 3 small bowls.
- To one portion of the ricotta mixture add the candied orange peels and the liqueur.
- To the second portion of cheese add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and ⅓ cup of mini chocolate chips.
- And add the remaining teaspoon of vanilla and ⅓ cup of ground up pistachios to the 3rd portion of ricotta mixture.
- Put each cheese mixture into piping bags or use plastic bags.
- Cut off the tip of the piping bag and pipe the mixture into the shells.
- To garnish, dip the ends of the pistachio and chocolate chip cannoli into the remaining 2 Tablespoons of pistachios and chocolate chips, respectively.
- Sprinkle orange zest on the ends of the orange cannoli.
- Serve soon after filling. Buon Appetito!
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